plantar fascia

Sorry for stealing your song title, Nancy Sinatra! Dr. Grace Walker, physical and occupational therapist and nutritionist says, “Walking is a great form of exercise. It is low impact, requires no special skills or equipment, and is simple to do!”

Some of the benefits of walking include:

Reduced risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes

Reduced high blood pressure

Good for your brain- may reduce risk of developing dementia

Reduced risk of breast and colon cancer

Helps alleviate symptoms of depression

Good for your bones

Relief from fibromyalgia pain

May help reduce medications (with prescribing-physicians approval)

Studies suggest that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every day, such as brisk walking, is necessary to see health benefits. Exercise does not need to be done 30 minutes at a time, but can be broken up into three separate 10 minute blocks, too.

Some ideas to mix up your own walking routine can be to include adding some headphones and music, walking alongside friends or with your dog, and walking around your business while you’re on break. When you’re just beginning your walking routine, start slow and gradually increase your intensity and duration.

At Walker Physical Therapy and Pain Center, our mission is to inspire, educate and motivate clients. Our staff can help you with many physical ailments that might be impeding you from starting or continuing your exercise routine that is sovital to your health. To schedule an evaluation with one of our expert physical therapists call us at (714) 997-5518.

Ankle sprains are common, but what can you do about them?

Dr. Grace Walker, physical and occupational therapist and nutritionist researched and found that every day in the U.S., 25,000 people sprain their ankle, and more than 1 million people visit emergency rooms each year because of ankle injurieswhether it be due to athletic incidents or every day stumbles.[1] Usually, a sprain will heal by the next day if it is minor enough. However, if you suffer from symptoms such as the ones listed below; make sure to go to the hospital for an X-ray or at least refer to your physician.

Symptoms of a Sprained Ankle

A sprain is the term that describes damage to ligaments when they are stretched beyond their normal range of motion[2]

Now that it’s August, summer is undoubtedly in full swing (if you couldn’t tell already)! Dr. Grace Walker, Physical and Occupational Therapist, knows that summer means sandal weather, right? For many of us, that is true. However, continue reading to learn why it might be best to limit how often you are in your flip-flops.

They lack support– “The let your foot be as flat as they can be,” says Jim Christina, director of scientific affairs at the American Podiatric Medical Association. If your foot is too flat, you aren’t getting any support. This can lead to a number of conditions and injuries, such as plantar fasciitis– inflammation of tissue on the underside of your feet, or hammertoe– which causes the knuckles of your toes to arch upwards. Sandals also lack ankle support and are more difficult to recover from missteps or tripping, making you susceptible to falls and a number of other injuries.

They are not hygienic– You probably could have guessed that sandals are not supportive, but give this idea some thought– when was the last time you washed your sandals? No, not just splashing them with the hose- were talking about a deep, hard scrub. The New York Times took flip-flops from their staff and sent them to a lab. Inside the foam they found Staphylococcus aureus, known to cause (your guessed it) Staph infections. To top things off, the lab also found 18,100 other harmful bacteria on the sandals.

Many runners are well aware that the foot/ankle area is important for a runner. It initiates contact with the ground and is important for the launch-off phase of running/walking to set you in motion

However, the great toe is an area that often goes unattended. Most people are aware of maintaining proper mobility through the ankle, but the role the great toe plays during the launch-off phase of running can’t be overlooked, since a lack of mobility in this area can lead to other complications. This is why great toe extension is paramount!

Due to range of motion limitations in the great toe, the absence of great toe extension exercises can lead to the plantar fascia having to do more work during the launch off phase of running, which can lead to overburdening the tissue and causing irritation.

Normal range of motion in the great toe can be anywhere from 70 to 90 degrees, so anything that is less than that can lead to increased stiffness in the joint over time..

3 TIPS TO IMPROVE GREAT TOE MOBILITY

Tip 1

Check your mobility in your great toe by pulling up on the toe (foot on the ground) to see if you have any limitations. The key is to keep your other toes relaxed as there is a tendency to want to extend all the toes to gain any extra range of motion. This easy test should give you a good idea of whether or not you may need to work on regaining mobility.

Tip 2

Address soft tissue restrictions through the calf and also the bottom of the foot. Any increased restrictions or tightness through these areas may restrict your great toe from moving into end range extension.

Tip 3

PT Erson Religioso III recommends end range great toe flexionto help reset the great toe and to allow it to move into extension without trying to force that motion over and over again.

Russ Manalastas is a licensed physical therapist and clinical director for Lattimore of Spencerport Physical Therapy.